In the case of certain medicinal substances, such as inhaled spray formulations, it may be desirable that an inhaler be provided with child restraint features to prevent operation of its dispensing mechanism by a child or accidental operation in general, for example when carrying the inhaler in a pocket or handbag. While it may be desirable that the inhaler be provided with child restraint features, it nevertheless may also be desirable that, at the same time, the operation of the inhaler be simple for adults to operate, especially elderly people. This is particularly important in the case of inhalers for medicinal substances, where it is desirable to simplify how to use the inhaler in order to minimize potential confusion and enable correct operation of the inhaler.
Thus, in the design of hand-held inhalers the developer must strive to achieve a balance between these competing desirable features. This is particularly the case when another, overriding, design feature is that the specific design of the haler be one which is compact, portable and lends itself to mass production.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an innovation that will overcome deficiencies and problems that remain unsolved.